Bicycle Trainer

ABSTRACT

A bicycle trainer is disclosed. The bicycle trainer includes a supporting frame, a hollow roller, an axle, at least one linking part, a fan and a resistance generator. The supporting frame suspends the driving wheel of a bicycle from the ground. The hollow roller presses up against the driving wheel of the bicycle. The axle is located in the hollow roller and pivotally connected to the supporting frame. The linking part connects the axle and the hollow roller. The fan is located in the hollow roller. The resistance generator provides resistance to the axle.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 98124473, filed Jul. 20, 2009, which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to exercise devices. More particularly, to the present disclosure relates to bicycle trainers.

2. Description of Related Art

Living in the highly competitive society of the 21st century, people are often busy at work and overlook the importance of health. In order to do some is exercise in their daily life, some people place a bicycle trainer indoors. The bicycle trainer can hold a bike securely, and makes it possible to ride a bike without moving forward. Therefore, people can do exercise at home.

When using the bicycle trainer, the friction elements of the bicycle trainer generate the thermal. The thermal increases the temperature of the friction elements, and the friction elements are greatly wear thereby. Therefore, it is important to solve the drawback caused by the thermal.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a bicycle trainer is disclosed. The bicycle trainer includes a supporting frame, a hollow roller, an axle, at least one linking part, a fan and a resistance generator. The supporting frame suspends the driving wheel of a bicycle from the ground. The hollow roller presses up against the driving wheel of the bicycle. The axle is located in the hollow roller and pivotally connected to the supporting frame. The linking part connects the axle and the hollow roller. The fan is located in the hollow roller. The resistance generator provides resistance to the axle.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a bicycle trainer is disclosed. The bicycle trainer includes a supporting frame, an axle, a fan, a hollow roller, at least one linking part and a resistance generator. The supporting frame suspends the driving wheel of a bicycle from the ground. The axle is pivotally connected to the supporting frame. The fan is connected to the axle. The hollow roller surrounds the axle and the fan. The linking part connects the hollow roller and the axle. The resistance generator provides resistance to the axle.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a bicycle trainer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the hollow roller and the fan of the bicycle trainer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a three dimensional view of the fan and the axle according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a three dimensional view of the hollow roller and the fan according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a bicycle trainer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The bicycle trainer includes a supporting frame 110, an axle 120, a fan 130, a hollow roller 140, at least one linking part 150, and a resistance generator 160. The axle 120 is pivotally connected to the supporting frame 110. The fan 130 is connected to the axle 120. The hollow roller 140 surrounds the axle 120 and the fan 130. The linking part 150 connects the hollow roller 140 and the axle 120.

In use, the supporting frame 110 may suspend the driving wheel 200 (e.g. the rear wheel) of a bicycle from the ground first. Then, the hollow roller 140 may press up against the driving wheel 200 of the bicycle. The resistance generator 160 may provide resistance to the axle 120 when the driving wheel 200 of the bicycle is turned. At the same time, the hollow roller 110 may drive the fan 130 to cool the resistance generator 160.

In detail, the supporting frame 110 includes a couple of clamps 112. The clamps 112 clamp the driving wheel 200 of the bicycle, so that the driving wheel 200 is suspended from ground and held securely. The clamp 112 links up with a quick-release member 114. Therefore, the user can set up or take apart the driving wheel 200 from the bicycle trainer easily by using the quick-release member 114.

The bicycle trainer further includes a detachable connecting member 116 and a balance-weight wheel 118. The detachable connecting member 116 detachably connects the axle 120 to the supporting frame 110. Therefore, the axle 120 is detachably connected to the supporting frame 110. Thus, it is convenient for users to decompose the bicycle trainer and then clean the bicycle trainer.

The axle 120 is paralleled to and located in the hollow roller 140. Two ends of the axle 120 jut out over the hollow roller 140. The balance-weight wheel 118 and the resistance generator 160 are connected to opposite ends of the axle 120. Therefore, the balance-weight wheel 118 can keep the bicycle trainer balance.

Furthermore, the axle 120 is connected to the hollow roller 140 by the linking part 150. That is, one end of the linking part 150 is connected to the side of the axle 120, and the other end of the linking part 150 is connected to the inner wall of the hollow roller 140.

The fan 130 is connected to the side of the axle 120. The fan 130 is also surrounded by the hollow roller 140 and located between the inner wall of the hollow roller 140 and the side of the axle 120.

When the user starts pedaling the bicycle, the hollow roller 140 is driven by the driving wheel 200 of the bicycle. The axle 120 can be rotated by the hollow roller 140 coaxially. There is a resistance force that derives from the resistance generator 160, and then the user has to drive the bike hardly. When the axle 120 rotates, the fan 130 rotates simultaneously. Therefore, the airflow is hastened by rotating the fan 130.

Particularly, the fan 130 is located in an end of the hollow roller 140 and next to the resistance generator 160. This design increases the speed of dissipating the heat from the resistance generator 160.

In addition to cool the resistance generator 160, the security of the bicycle trainer can be increased because the fan 130 is surrounded by the hollow roller 140. It also reduces the production cost for producing the bike simulator.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the hollow roller 140 and the fan 130 of the bicycle trainer of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, the axle 120 includes a tube 122 and a shaft 124, and the fan 130 includes an impeller 132. The linking part 150 connects the tube 122 and the inner wall of hollow roller 140, so that the tube 122 is fixed in the hollow roller 140. The shaft 124 is connected to the impeller 132 and coupled to the tube 122. Then, the shaft 124 and the impeller 132 are surrounded by the hollow roller 140.

The shaft 124 is pivotally connected to the supporting frame 110 via the detachable connecting member 116. One end of the shaft 124 is pivotally connected to the balance-weight wheel 118, and the other end of the shaft 124 is connected to the resistance generator 160. When the hollow roller 140 is driven by the driving wheel 200, the shaft 124 is rotated by the hollow roller 140 coaxially. Then, the resistance generator 160 is driven by the shaft 124. The impeller 132 is rotated with the shaft 124, so that the impeller 132 can produce the airflow and dissipate the heat among the elements of the bicycle trainer.

In general, the impeller 132 includes a plurality of blades 132 a and a ring 132 b. The blades 132 a is permanently connected to the side of ring 132 b. The ring 132 b is detachably connected to the shaft 124. Therefore, it is easy to replace a new impeller when the impeller 132 is broken.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2. One end of the hollow roller 140 includes a reserved space 142. The reserved space 142 is next to the resistance generator 160. The impeller 132 is located at the reserved space 142. Therefore, the impeller 132 can cool the resistance is generator 160.

FIG. 4 is a three dimensional view of the fan 130 and the axle 120 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Compare to FIG. 2, the fan 130 only includes a plurality of blades 132 a in FIG. 4. The blades 132 a are permanently connected to the side of the axle 120. When the axle 120 is rotated by the hollow roller 140 coaxially, the fan 130 is also rotated with the axle 120 simultaneously. It can cool the resistance generator 160. In addition, the fan 130 is next to the resistance generator 160, so that the heat from the resistance generator 160 can be dissipated rapidly.

FIG. 5 is a three dimensional view of the hollow roller 140 and the fan 130 according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 5, the hollow roller 140 surrounds the axle 120 and the fan 130. The fan 130 includes a plurality of blades 132 a. The blades 132 a are permanently connected to the inner wall of the hollow roller 140. When the hollow roller 140 is rotated, the fan 130 is also rotated. Therefore, the fan 130 drives the airflow around the bicycle trainer and cools the resistance generator 160. 

1. A bicycle trainer comprising: a supporting frame for suspending the driving wheel of a bicycle from the ground; a hollow roller for pressing up against the driving wheel of the bicycle; an axle located in the hollow roller and pivotally connected to the supporting frame; at least one linking part connecting the axle and the hollow roller; a fan located in the hollow roller; and a resistance generator for providing resistance to the axle.
 2. The bicycle trainer of claim 1, wherein the fan comprises: at least one blade connected to the inner wall of the hollow roller.
 3. The bicycle trainer of claim 1, wherein the fan comprises: at least one blade connected to the axle.
 4. The bicycle trainer of claim 1, wherein the fan comprises: an impeller detachably connected to the axle.
 5. The bicycle trainer of claim 1, wherein the axle comprises: a tube; and a shaft coupled to the tube and pivotally connected to the supporting frame, wherein the resistance generator is connected to the shaft.
 6. The bicycle trainer of claim 1, wherein the fan is located at one end of the hollow roller, thereby cooling the resistance generator.
 7. The bicycle trainer of claim 1, further comprising: a balance-weight wheel, wherein the balance-weight wheel and the resistance generator are connected to opposite ends of the axle.
 8. The bicycle trainer of claim 1, further comprising: a detachable connecting member detachably connecting the axle to the supporting frame.
 9. A bicycle trainer comprising: a supporting frame for suspending the driving wheel of a bicycle from the ground; an axle pivotally connected to the supporting frame; a fan connected to the axle; a hollow roller surrounding the axle and the fan; at least one linking part connecting the hollow roller and the axle; and a resistance generator for providing resistance to the axle.
 10. The bicycle trainer of claim 9, wherein the fan comprises: an impeller detachably connected to the axle.
 11. The bicycle trainer of claim 9, wherein the axle comprises: a tube; and a shaft coupled to the tube and pivotally connected to the supporting frame, wherein the resistance generator is connected to the shaft.
 12. The bicycle trainer of claim 9, wherein the fan is located at one end of the hollow roller, thereby cooling the resistance generator.
 13. The bicycle trainer of claim 9, further comprising: a balance-weight wheel, wherein the balance-weight wheel and the resistance generator are connected to opposite ends of the axle.
 14. The bicycle trainer of claim 9, further comprising: a detachable connecting member detachably connecting the axle to the supporting frame. 